I awoke to find the sun just rising over the horizon.
I jumped up and packed away my essentials into my inventory.
"Well what now?" I wondered outloud. I only had two weeks until school started to get strong enough to survive, and to form a plan on what to do at school.
I had foresight on the major events of the story, but like any story, much of the small stuff were barely mentioned.
I am working with limited information that could become useless if I don't play my cards right. Yet at the same time following the story exactly would gain me nothing but trouble.
Sighing, I decided to check the quest tab of my system to see if anything updated.
[System Tutorial Active]
Progress to system unlock, 30%
[Quests Log]
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Defeat a creature stronger than you
Reward- 1 strength point, 1 token
Find something to eat
Reward- cooking pot
jog a mile
Reward- 1 dexterity point, 1 stamina point
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I looked and the quests and mulled over my options.
I only had a strength of 3 which was a blessing and a curse, not much would be needed to fulfill my quest to beat something stronger, and it could probably fulfill the food mission too.
But being so weak meant I can't deal much direct damage anyway, I had to figure a way out to both kill a creature but not actually fight it.
In these crappy woods I had no usable weapons, only the clothes I woke up in originally, the winter gear I got from the shop, and some camping equipment.
I guess for now I will jog until I come across anything.
I started jogging while wondering what to do.
It was only 40 minutes and 2 stat points later that my choice was made for me.
I was zoned out until I heard it…a crunch off to the side. I had stopped and tried to hear what it could be, only to realize the oppressive quiet that had now engulfed the forest.
The only sounds I could hear were the beats of my heart, the slow breaths I was taking, and the light wind rustling the leaves.
Then…CRUNCH…a grey creature begun to stalk from around a nearby tree, its coat helped it blend in with the surroundings until it made its presence known.
It was a grey wolf, but it wasn't the kind of canine you would see on a walk in the park. It was massive, it was far larger than the size of a Great Dane, with shoulders that had thick muscles practically bursting from its coat. Frost clung to its muzzle, and its yellow eyes locked onto me with clear intent that I had already been chosen as its dinner.
[Warning: Hostile Monster Detected] Gray Winter Wolf - Level 3 Threat Level: MODERATE]
"Well thank you system, you only warn me of danger when its right infront of me." I sarcastically said.
"Oh and another thing, why the hell is this moderate, this is practically a death sentence!"
[Threat level "Moderate" is for normal people. For you? This is basically a boss fight. Good luck, Host!]
I begun to back away and sifted through my inventory interface, desperately searching for something to defend myself with.
No weapons, no options, I just had basics like my sleeping bag, tent, basic essen-
Ahh! The tent poles I used last night, those should be sharp right?
"Well," I muttered, pulling one out, "guess I'm doing this the hard way. At least if I die, I won't have to deal with the school cafeteria food."
The wolf didn't pay the short object any mind and lunged.
I haphazardly threw myself to the side just in time to avoid becoming dog chow, swinging and missing my first swing at the same time.
I hit the ground hard and rolled, trying to get to my feet in time.
It wasn't enough as the wolf had immediately darted towards me again, jumping onto me and biting into my left shoulder.
The searing pain nearly caused me to lose my grip on my tent pole, a weak cry escaping my lips, but I focused and jabbed the stake as hard as I could into the side of the winter wolf.
It didn't penetrate far but it earned a yelp from the wolf and caused it to let go of me and back away for a moment, the flashing red in the corner of my vision told me my condition wasn't good.
[Warning: health is low! 40/60 health]
[Oh good, you're not completely useless. You actually hit something!]
"Shut up!" I gasped, scrambling backward. Blood, both mine and the wolf's, steamed in the cold air. My shoulder felt like someone had stuck a hot poker into it and twisted.
The wolf stared me down, more wary now, a thin line of red marking where the stake had scored its hide. We stared at each other, both breathing hard.
"So..." I panted, "want to call it a draw?" It growled low at me "No? Yeah, I figured."
[Attempting negotiation with wildlife. Bold strategy. Let's see how it works out for you.]
I ignored the system, and tried to push away my fear and pain. I needed to think, there must be something I can do. What else did I have? Rope. A tarp. The cooking pot. Fire-starting flint.
"Think, think..." I muttered. "What would a smart person do?"
The wolf's muscles tensed, it was going to charge again.
I pulled the tarp from my inventory, the system's magic making it materialize instantly in my hands. The sudden appearance startled the wolf for a moment.
"Ha! Magic tricks!" I snapped the tarp out like the world's worst matador. "Please work, please work."
The beast lunged, and I sidestepped, throwing the tarp over its head.
It twisted and turned, ensnaring itself in the tarp, growling and snarling all the while.
"Take that, you oversized fleabag!"
[Don't celebrate yet, genius. It's not dead.]
"Not now system!" I barked, I swung my tent pole again and again, beating the poor canine like a bloody pinata.
I changed tactics, I thrust the pole into the tarp, stabbing the wolf, then I did it again and again with other tent stakes.
"Sorry-not-sorry!" I grunted with each strike. The wolf howled, the sound muffled by the tarp, and bucked wildly. One stake glanced off something hard.
"That…is what…you get…for trying…to eat me!"
Another stake found something soft. The thrashing grew weaker. I didn't stop. My hands were numb, my shoulder screaming, my vision blurring.
"Just—die—already!"
One more stake. Then another. The movement beneath the tarp finally, mercifully, stopped.
I collapsed next to the bloody mess that was the wolf. "Phew I thought I was a goner."
[Combat Complete: Gray Stalker Wolf Defeated +45 Experience Points]
[Congratulations on your first kill Host! Only took you stabbing a blind, confused animal multiple times. Very heroic.]
"Can you... just for a second... shut up?" I wheezed.
[Quest Complete: Defeat a creature stronger than you] Reward Received: +1 Strength, 1 Token
[Quest Complete: Find something to eat] Reward Received: Cooking Pot
As disgusting as that sounded, I had nothing else to eat, and considering my condition I would NOT be ready for any more combat encounters.
I looked down at my trembling, bloodstained hands and let out a shaky laugh that sounded slightly unhinged even to my own ears. "You know what? At least it wasn't a bear. Could've been a bear."
[Give it time. At the rate you're going, you'll probably run into a dragon by next week.]
"Don't even joke about that," I muttered, pulling back the tarp to see what I'd done.
The wolf lay still, multiple tent stakes protruding from its body at odd angles. Blood pooled beneath it, melting the frost. It looked... brutal. Messy. Nothing like the clean kills in games or stories.
I felt my stomach lurch and quickly looked away.
"Okay. Okay, I can do this." I took a deep breath that hurt my shoulder. "I need to... what, skin it? Butcher it? I don't even know where to start."
[And yet you're talking to yourself again instead of checking your stats. Typical.]
I groaned but pulled up my character sheet, dreading what the System would say this time.
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Name: Alastor Alowenson Von Ragnar (Disowned)
[Class]
Duelist {Rare} (Sealed) None (Current)
[Stats]
Strength: 4 (+3 sealed)
Dexterity: 5 (+4 sealed)
Stamina: 5 (+3 sealed)
Constitution: 3 (+3 sealed)
Perception: 3 (+2 sealed)
Intelligence: 4
Ki Control: 2 (Natural), 7 (Noble) (Sealed)
Ki Pool: 2 (Natural), 7 (Noble) (Sealed)
Charisma: 4 (Natural), 8 (Noble) (Sealed)
Drive: 5
[Affinities]
Fire: 1/10 (Natural), 10/10 (Bloodline) (Disowned)
Lightning: 0/10
Ice: 5/10
Earth: 0/10
Wood: 1/10
Shadow: 0/10
[Traits]
Ragnarid Blood (Sealed) (Disowned)
Noble Arrogance (high) {Uncommon}
Sword Passion {Uncommon}
Teetotaler {Rare}
[Abilities]
Final Dawn: Decimate your foes with fire from above (Sealed)
Flame Sword Dance: Let your instincts guide you to attack your foes in fiery passion (Insufficient fire affinity)
Noble's Armory: Use ghostly weapons that imitate the weapons of your ancestors (Disowned)
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I looked back at the wolf corpse wrapped in the tarp, then at my bloodstained hands, then up at the sky where the sun was climbing higher.
Two weeks until school starts…two weeks to get strong enough to not die immediately.
"Well," I said, trying to inject some confidence I didn't feel into my voice, "at least I've got food now. Probably. If I don't poison myself trying to cook it."
[Given your Intelligence stat of 4, food poisoning is definitely on the table. Pun intended.]
"I'm going to find a way to turn you off."
I sighed, pulled out one of my remaining tent stakes and got to work.
This was going to be a long two weeks.